Scottish Executive

Doctors

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact the report by the Chief Medical Officer for England, Unfinished Business - Proposals for Reform of the Senior House Officer Grade , will have on the role of examinations in respect of assessing doctors' competence

Malcolm Chisholm: As detailed in Modernising Medical Careers , the response of the four UK Health Ministers to the consultation on Unfinished Business - Proposals for Reform of the Senior House Officer Grade , we will support and encourage the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board for the United Kingdom (PMETB) to work with the medical royal colleges to develop competency-based training and assessment. We would expect this work to include consideration of the role of examinations and other assessment methods in determining levels of competence for doctors in training.

Fisheries

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what grant aid is available to assist with business diversification and non-fishing-related new business start ups in fishing industry dependent areas.

Mr Jim Wallace: Within the Scottish Enterprise area the business gateway provides a single brand for businesses allowing easier access to a consistent range of services geared towards potential business start-ups and growing businesses. There are standard/core programmes available through all outlets providing focussed and high quality support to customers. This could include, for example, an e-commerce grant to all new start companies which offers a 50% grant to a maximum of £500 as a contribution towards the costs of computer equipment etc.

  In the Highlands and Islands enterprise area, the local enterprise companies (LECs) act as a single access point to information and advice on the range of services available to new and growing businesses.

  Additional services may also be available at local level on a discretionary basis. Much will depend on the specific business needs. The support programmes are not automatic and will be dependent on the specific support criteria and whether the project is commercially viable. Decisions on the provision of support for individual projects are entirely a matter for the enterprise networks.

  As outlined in the partnership agreement, steps are in hand to further improve support measures through the introduction of a new business start up fund.

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is given to the spread of sea lice in sitting salmon farms.

Allan Wilson: The risks from, and management of, sea lice are issues addressed by the environmental impact statements, which accompany most new or modified fish farm development proposals.

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it is conducting into the spread of sea lice from salmon farms to the wild fish population.

Allan Wilson: The Fisheries Research Services Freshwater Laboratory is:

  1. monitoring levels of sea lice at the mouths of rivers in west and north-west Scotland;

  2. monitoring sea lice levels on juvenile sea trout returning to the river Shieldaig;

  3. monitoring the numbers of sea lice on wild sea trout in west and north-west Scotland (in collaboration with the Association of West Coast Fisheries Trusts); and

  4. estimating the marine survival of sea trout in north west Scotland.

  The Fisheries Research Services Marine Laboratory is:

  1. monitoring open-water larval sea lice levels in Loch Torridon; and

  2. developing models to assess the effects of wind and tide on the movement of particles, and hence larval sea lice

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-856 by Ross Finnie on 14 July 2003, whether it will clarify the statement that the creation of a European fund to aid fishing communities "would not increase public expenditure in Scotland because of the UK's public spending arrangements" and whether this statement would apply solely to this compensation fund or to all EU funding programmes.

Ross Finnie: Most public expenditure in the UK is managed within fixed departmental expenditure limit (DEL) plans, within which fisheries and other requirements are prioritised. Under these arrangements, the Executive would not gain any direct benefit from the availability of additional EU funding in this case. Any further fisheries support measures would need to be funded through re-prioritising existing expenditure commitments.

  These arrangements apply to directly funded EU spending - mainly under financial instrument for fisheries guidance and other EU structural fund programmes. Different arrangements operate in respect of spending on annual common agricultural policy market support subsidies and EU rural development measures where domestic expenditure cover for EU funding is classed as annually managed expenditure and provided by the UK Treasury, outside the block and formula arrangements.

Flood Prevention

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it is spending on flood prevention issues; what its future spending proposals are, and what this money is being, or will be, spent on.

Allan Wilson: Provision of publicly funded flood defences is a matter for local authorities. Arising from the 2002 spending review, the Executive increased the capital allocation available to local authorities for flood prevention and coast protection programmes to a total of £40 million for the period 2003-04 to 2005-06. The amount of this committed so far for flood defences is the £10.9 million announced recently for the Kilmarnock and Rothesay flood prevention schemes. This is on top of the ongoing commitment of £1.9 million, for the completion of river Kelvin and Largs flood prevention schemes and the river Clyde catchment study.

  Distribution of the remaining resources is linked to local authorities submitting requests for funding for schemes that have been prepared and have completed the necessary statutory processes.

  In addition, the 2002 spending review increased the total provision for other flood risk management initiatives up to £10 million. To date, this provision has been used:- to continue funding for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's floodline flood warning service; to fund the provision of digital ground level data to improve flood risk estimation; and to fund other flood risk-related measures in support of the Executive's flooding framework.

  Also, more generally, within the Executive's annual provisions to support local authorities' revenue expenditure, over £3 million is included to fund their duty to maintain watercourses, where this will reduce the likelihood of flooding of non-agricultural areas.

Forestry

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-651 by Allan Wilson on 18 June 2003, why the level of grant available for short rotation coppice under the Scottish forestry grants scheme is reduced in respect of land set aside as part of the arable area payment scheme.

Allan Wilson: The level of grant available for short rotation coppice under the Scottish forestry grants scheme is reduced from £600 to £400 per hectare in respect of land set aside under a separate scheme, the arable area payment scheme (AAPS).

  This is because under the AAPS, establishment grants may be paid for the production of short rotation coppice. The current levels are £205.80 per hectare for less favoured areas and £223.97 for non less favoured areas.

Local Authorities

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what locus or responsibilities it has regarding the introduction of local byelaws on drinking in public places.

Cathy Jamieson: The introduction of byelaws is a matter for local authorities under section 201 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The Executive has a supervisory role, in that Scottish ministers ultimately confirm all byelaws, but the initiative in making them lies with the local authority.

National Health Service

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on implementing the new contract for NHS consultants.

Malcolm Chisholm: Talks between the Scottish Executive and British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland to agree a set of terms and conditions for a new consultants' contract in Scotland have been on-going for the past six months. They have made good progress and are nearing completion.

  The talks stalled over a legal issue raised by BMA Scotland at the end of June. The Executive and BMA Scotland now believe that there are a number of potential ways forward that would allow a resolution to this matter to be found. Talks resumed at the end of July with a view to delivering a new contract later this year.

Pharmacists

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many unfilled vacancies for NHS pharmacists, expressed also as a percentage of the number of pharmacy posts, there have been in each year since 1999-2000, broken down by pharmacy grade and NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on vacancies and posts for NHS pharmacists is not collected centrally. Centrally held information on NHS pharmacists relates to staff employed only and excludes the posts that are vacant.

  Information on NHS pharmacists employed at 30 September each year is published on the web pages of the Information and Statistics Division of NHSScotland, in section A of "Workforce Statistics" at the following address:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/NHSiS_resource/Workforce/workforce_statistics.htm

Pharmacists

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many agency pharmacists, expressed also as a percentage of the number of NHS pharmacy posts, were employed in each year since 1999-2000, broken down by pharmacy grade and NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on agency pharmacists and NHS pharmacy posts is not collected centrally. Centrally held information on NHS pharmacists relates to staff employed only and does not capture information on posts that are vacant.

  Information on NHS pharmacists employed at 30 September each year is published on the web pages of the Information and Statistics Division of NHS Scotland, in section A of "Workforce Statistics" at the following address:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/NHSiS_resource/Workforce/workforce_statistics.htm

Pharmacists

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of employing agency pharmacists in each year since 1999-2000, broken down by pharmacy grade and NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the cost of employing agency pharmacists in each year is not available centrally.

Pharmacists

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to meet with the Association of Scottish Trust Chief Pharmacists.

Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish Executive officials meet on a regular basis with representatives of the Association of Scottish Trust Chief Pharmacists.

Pharmacists

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies for NHS pharmacists have been filled by candidates from (a) within and (b) out with the NHS, expressed also as a percentage of the number of vacancies, in each year since 1999-2000, broken down by pharmacy grade and NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the number of vacancies for NHS pharmacists is not available centrally.

Scottish Agricultural College

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to allocate funds to the Scottish Agricultural College in order to widen access to further and higher education.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department funds the provision of education at the Scottish Agricultural College by a block grant-in-aid. Funds are not allocated specifically for widening access to further and higher education but the college is expected to respond to the Scottish Executive's policies and priorities for further and higher education within the grant-in-aid figure.

Scottish Agricultural College

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the funds allocated to the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) are allocated in recognition of its needs as a smaller college on three campuses.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department funds the provision of education at the Scottish Agricultural College by grant-in-aid. Funds are not allocated specifically to recognise the size of the college or the distribution of its campuses. However the funding of education at SAC, expressed in terms of funding per student, is currently significantly higher than at other education institutions.

Scottish Agricultural College

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Agricultural College has received, or does receive, any funding under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Ross Finnie: The college does not receive specific funding from the Executive for the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

  It is for the college to prioritise its expenditure requirements and allocate the funding that it receives from the Executive and other funders accordingly.